I just spend considerable time over at the Book Trends Blog trying to figure out who writes it so I could give credit where credit is due. Unless I’ve just missed it, there is no contact information there. I finally found an obscure reference to the name Bob Spear and then realized that name is also part of the URL. Even worse is there’s no obvious way to contact him.
I have no clue what Bob wants from his blog, but I can tell you this. If I’d wanted to hire him to do some writing I probably would have left long before I figured out what his name is.
How Can They Find You?
If you’ve got a website go to it right now and pretend you’re a total stranger looking at your site for the very first time. Pretend too that you’re actually looking for a writer that writes the kind of stuff you do.
How easy is it for this potential client to find you there on your own site? And remember, you know where your contact information is.
A good example is right at the top of this page, and every page on this blog. There is both an About Anne tab and a Contact Anne tab. On the About page has both an email address for me (and without making it difficult to click or just copy in spite of the fact I may get more spam) and a link to my contact page. My contact page gives you several ways to contact me.
I Need To Do A Better Job
Over at www.annewayman.com I haven’t done nearly as good a job. Oh sure, there’s no doubt about whose site it is, and you’ll find my phone number at the bottom of every page.
But my contact button is way down that list on the right. My phone number is there too, but there’s no email address to be found anywhere.
Unbelievable!
I’m going to leave that site up for a week and then I’ll fix it, so go see a perfect example of don’t do as I do, but as I say.’
(There, it’s on my calendar for next Tuesday.)
If you don’t yet have a website you probably need to read: You’re a Writer – You Need a Website or Better Yet, Your Own Blog
How easy is it for clients to contact you?
Write well and often,
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For a quick tutorial on some simple steps you can take to make sure your site helps you connect with prospective clients, see 5 Things I Hate About Your Web Site: http://blog.entrepreneur.com/2009/10/5-things-i-hate-about-your-web-site.php
I’m constantly amazed at how many sites I can go on for writers or any other kind of small business and be completely stumped on who runs them and how to contact them…
Carol Tice
http://www.caroltice.com
http://Twitter.com/TiceWrites
Make a Living Writing Blog:
Carol Tice´s last blog ..The 7 Habits of Highly Paid Freelance Writers
Thanks for this tip Anne. I want to thank you for your site. I landed a job from your job listing recently and I am so happy and fulfilled with it! You are a jewel for being so helpful to others. I have signed up as an affiliate to your site too. Now all I have to do is set up a successful blog or website. I read your article on the importance of it and that helps.
Great… congrats on the job.
Those interested in good Web site communications basics can take a look at 5 Things I Hate About Your Web Site
Carol Tice
http://www.caroltice.com
http://Twitter.com/TiceWrites
Make a Living Writing Blog:
Carol Tice´s last blog ..The 7 Habits of Highly Paid Freelance Writers
http://www.abookbarn.com/Contact_Us.html found in about 30 seconds via the Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/bobspear – which also has contact details in the background image) linked from the right-hand side of the site you were looking at
Gary´s last blog ..Burning Monk
Hi Gary, but if you didn’t recognize those right-hand items at tweets you wouldn’t know how to find him doing a twit search… and I still don’t find a link in the background image… also have become curious why when I click on the tags I’m taken to an English wordpress directory. And it turns out he’s here in the U.S. I’ll stand by my original statement that from a potential client’s point of view http://bobspear.wordpress.com/ makes it way to difficult to find the contact info.
Re your burning monk video – wow – I’m old enough to remember the still photos and the TV version. And didn’t more monks burn themselves up more recently in Burma – maybe just beaten and shot – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQzCV-6-Rbk or this Images that Changed The World – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sME4rQySK6M – you’ve got to know some history for this to make total sense. sigh
Great advice, as always, Anne! I tweet with Bob Spear and I think he is a little rusty with marketing himself. Hopefully, he’ll read this and tweak his site.
Lisa Cunningham´s last blog ..What’s so funny about cancer?
Lisa, Bob may have good and valid reasons not to be as public as I am… I probably should have made that clear in the article.
Wonderful tip Anne. I get frustrated when I try to find contact information, too. I’m going to check my site now and make sure if someone comes, they can conatact me.
Kathryn Pless´s last blog ..The Never Ending Story
This is a GREAT article, Anne! I really hate it when and interesting title or website name leads nowhere!
One tip that some might try, to make certain that the link is truly not working, is to use the BACK button on the browser. If the page is not there, there is definitely a problem.
My computer sometimes goes to a link, then shoots past it and puts up the WEB PAGE NOT FOUND dummy page. The problem is connected with my anti-virus program, but I live with it because I know that it is probably there…although not always!
Yes, I see what you mean Anne. Difficult indeed. Thanks for the info.
Michelle Kafka´s last blog ..Synesthesia